


The Hollow

by baroquedesert73



Series: The Hollow Trilogy [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adventure, Airplane Crashes, Blizzards & Snowstorms, Crash Landing, M/M, Suspense, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26777281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baroquedesert73/pseuds/baroquedesert73
Summary: Zak was on a flight back home from Vidcon when all of a sudden something bad happens and the plane crashes. What will he do now in the dangerous environment he has landed in? Can he discover the reason for the crash?---You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com
Relationships: Zak Ahmed & Darryl Noveschosch, Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch
Series: The Hollow Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952239
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	1. The Beginning

Zak smiled when he heard the announcer call his flight time which meant that it was finally time for him to go home. Zak had been waiting at the airport for over three hours now. He'd been in California to attend Vidcon and had been there for a week. He was excited to get home to see his family.

Zak stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in and grabbed his blue suitcase before walking towards the boarding bridge and soon getting on the plane.

He was pleased that there weren't many people on the plane, meaning he got a row of seats to himself. He put his luggage up in the compartment above his seat and sat next to the window.

After a few seconds, a taller male that had dirty-blonde hair and wore glasses sat in the row of seats next to him. He was wearing a black and red hoodie with some dark blue jeans. He looked like he was around 20 years old. The boy waved, and Zak waved back awkwardly.

Soon a lady on the plane announced that the plane was about to leave, so Zak put on his headphones and played the music he'd downloaded before he left. He looked out the window to see that it was really dark out.

The plane started to move, and eventually took off. Zak watched as the terrain underneath him moved by. The only thing Zak could see from below was the many lights in the city. He felt himself drifting away into sleep.  
  


"Hey! Wake up!" Zak heard a voice shout, but it sounded faint over the ringing in his ears. He felt somebody shaking him gently. He was severely cold.

 _Why does my whole body hurt?_ Zak thought.

"Please, wake up!" The voice shouted again, this time it sounded clearer. He opened his eyes and his hearing became slightly better. That boy that he'd seen on the plane was kneeling in front of him. Zak's vision was fuzzy.

"What's going on?" Zak barely managed to say. His voice was raspy from being dehydrated. "Wh—where am I?"

Zak tried pushing himself up off the ground but failed. He fell back to the ground. _Ouch!_

"I-I don't know," the boy stated, looking down. Zak was still dazed.

The boy stood up and held out his hand to help Zak stand up. Zak grabbed his hand and attempted to stand up. It was painful, but he managed to do it.

Zak's vision soon cleared up as he snapped out of his daze. He heard fire crackling in the background, and there was snow everywhere. Did they crash? Where were they?

He looked at the boy in front of him. He was clutching his bloody knee. He had a nose bleed and had numerous scratches all over him.

"Your nose is bleeding," Zak pointed out.

"I know," the boy chuckled, "but you should see yourself."

Zak looked down and figured out why his body was aching so badly. He was pretty sure he had a broken leg and arm. Zak looked back up at the boy in front of him with wide eyes.

"Did—did we crash?" Zak stammered with a lump in his throat. _No, please don't cry now._ Zak thought. He held back the tears.

The boy nodded. He looked like he was going to cry, too.

"Are there any more survivors?" Zak asked. The boy shook his head sadly to say "no".

"We should get our luggage and check the others to find supplies," the boy said as he started limping toward the ripped in half and burning plane, "by the way, my name's Darryl."

Zak followed him in a limp as well, "I'm Zak."

They opened the compartments above the seats and pulled out the luggage they could find. They needed warmer clothes and a medical kit. Some food, too.

Zak obtained his own suitcase and opened it. There wasn't anything that would keep them warm— mostly because he was visiting California— so he just slid on an extra hoodie and pair of pants that he had.

He grabbed a few snacks that he had stored in his suitcase and took out his backpack. He packed a few extra clothes in there, along with the food. He went onto the next luggage and got some materials.

A few things he found included a flask, a compass, rope, and a sleeping bag.

He met back up with Darryl, who also had more clothes and a backpack on.

"Don't they keep a first aid kit in the plane?" Zak asked.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!" Darryl went up to the front of the plane, stepping over some corpses in the process, and grabbed the first aid kit hanging on the wall. He put it in his backpack and walked back up to Zak.

"I feel bad for all these people," Zak frowned, looking down.

Darryl put a hand on his shoulder, resulting in Zak to look up at him. "I know, but since we survived, we have to continue to survive and possibly get help," Darryl smiled warmly. That caused Zak to smile again.

They shortly headed out into the snowy wilderness, no towns in sight, after collecting supplies from the luggage.

They hiked through around a foot of snow and over ice, but all they saw were trees, rocks, and snow. They just hoped there weren't any bears out there.

"How long have we been walking for?" Zak asked, his leg and arm hurting. He was also freezing cold. It was frigid out there, after all. He sat down on a boulder and Darryl sat down next to him.

"I'm so hungry," Zak stated.

"Me too," Darryl stood up, "but we have to keep going and find a cabin or something before it gets dark. Make sure to collect sticks that you find along the way. Maybe some rocks too, if you find any."

Zak nodded and followed Darryl. He trudged through the snow, wincing as he stepped with his possibly broken leg. The scenery was nice, but it was also hazardous. He saw a few sticks and rocks and gathered them. He put them in his backpack.

Zak bent down and put his hands on his knees to take a break as they walked up a small hill. All of a sudden, he heard Darryl say, "Zak, look!"

Zak snapped his head up and saw Darryl standing at the top of the hill. He walked up to where Darryl was standing and sided him. Darryl pointed out to a cabin not far away. It would only take a few minutes to get there.

Zak glanced back to where the sun was and noticed that it was going to set soon. They needed to get to that cabin and start a fire. They slid down the hill and proceeded to walk towards the cabin.

After a few minutes, they arrived. The cabin had a second floor and looked in adequate shape for the weather. "I just hope no one's home," Darryl said. Darryl went up to the door and turned the knob. "It's locked," Darryl said, "I'll try to get this door open and you go check the back."

Zak nodded and headed around the cabin. There was something lying in the snow a little bit away from him, so he went to check it out. When he got closer, the realization hit him.

 _Is—is that...?_ Zak thought. He stepped closer and gasped. It was a dead body, but it looked like it had been there for a while. _Yes, it is._

The body wasn't just killed from the frigid temperatures, it was killed by _something_. There were claw marks all over it, and its stomach had a big gash in it.

Zak heard the faint voice of Darryl back at the cabin, but he wasn't paying any attention to him. His attention was on the carcass in front of him. He stared at it with wide eyes.

"Zak, what's going on?" Darryl jogged up to Zak.

"Oh, no," Darryl gasped, "Zak, I got the door open, we should go." Darryl directed Zak towards the cabin. 

The inside of the cabin was fine, but it was still cold. Good thing there was a furnace in there, along with some chopped up firewood. "This is nice," Zak stated.

"Yeah," Darryl smiled, "I'm planning on us staying here for at least a few days so we can heal up a bit. Then we can head out and find another place to stay."

Zak smiled and nodded, "wanna check upstairs?"

"Yeah," Darryl smiled. They went upstairs and there was a chest, along with some bunk beds.

"I call the top bunk!" Zak giggled.

"No, I saw it first, you muffin!" Darryl laughed. They both raced for the top bunk.

Zak made it there first and stuck his tongue out at Darryl. "Aw man," Darryl laughed.

"Haha, you get bottom bunk!" Zak laid down on the bed. It wasn't comfortable, but at least it wasn't worse than that.

"Hey, we should go start a fire in the furnace, I'm freezing!" Darryl shivered.

Zak hopped off the bed, "ok." He forgot about his leg and clenched it when he landed on it, grunting in pain.

"You alright?" Darryl asked.

"Yeah," Zak said, "I just need a second."

Darryl waited for a second before asking, "Need any help?"

"Yeah," Zak smiled and looked up at Darryl, "thanks."

Zak put his arm around Darryl's shoulders for support and they sauntered down the stairs. Once they got to the bottom, Darryl helped Zak sit down on a chair near the furnace. They took off their backpacks. Zak brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them.

Zak took out the sticks that he had obtained along the way, along with a lighter he found. "Hey, I should look around for some lighter fluid. I don't think this is going to light very fast on its own," Darryl stated, starting to search in bookshelves, drawers, and chests. Zak tried to get up and help, but Darryl didn't allow him.

Darryl found some in one of the drawers near the furnace and began to put some logs and sticks into the fire. He poured some lighter fluid onto the logs and then lit it with the lighter.

A fire started to form, bringing both light and warmth into the room. It was delightful. The sun had already begun to set by then, causing the moon to come out of its hiding place beyond the mountains. Mist hung low on the snow, and the wind speeds slowed down. It was a peaceful night.

Darryl grabbed a blanket from out of his backpack and set it on the ground in front of the fire. He sat down on one side of the blanket, leaving room for Zak on the other. Zak got off the chair and sat next to Darryl on the blanket.

"Is there any food? I'm starving!" Zak chuckled.

"Yeah, in my backpack." Darryl smiled as he pulled out two granola bars out of his bag. He handed one to Zak.

"Thank you," Zak opened his granola bar and ate it.

"You're welcome," Darryl said, "if I hadn't found you, or any other survivor, I don't know if I would've survived all by myself."

"Yeah, I don't think I would've, either," Zak said. They both ate their granola bars in peace until the fire slowly died out.

"Do you wanna head up to bed? We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We need to find supplies." Darryl asked. Zak nodded, so Darryl helped Zak stand up, then up the stairs. He made sure to grab the blanket on the way.

"Are you sure you don't want the bottom bunk? It will be easier for you." Darryl asked.

"Yeah, I'll take the bottom bunk," Zak nodded, "unless you want it."

"No," Darryl smiled, "you should have it."

Darryl handed Zak the extra blanket and he got into bed. Darryl got on the top bunk. They both eventually drifted off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	2. Northern Lights

When Zak woke up the next morning, Darryl wasn't on his bed. He wasn't even in the room. _Maybe he's downstairs._ Zak thought. He limped over to the stairs and headed down, clenching on to the railing for support.

Once he got down the stairs, he saw Darryl crouching by the furnace, boiling something in a pot on top of it. He walked closer. "What are you making?" Zak asked, which caused Darryl to jump.

He turned around and said, "Zak, you're up! How are you feeling?"

Zak glanced down at his leg, then looked at Darryl, "Ehh, I've been better."

Darryl grinned, "at least you're feeling a little bit better."

"So... what are you making?" Zak asked.

"I was looking around and found someone's old journal. There's a lot of survival tips in there," Darryl mixed whatever he was making with a wooden spoon, "it says that if I melt snow, it will make fresh water."

"that's cool," Zak walked over to Darryl and looked inside the pan, "what else was in there?"

"I don't know, I only read a few pages. You can read it if you want." Darryl smiled. He pointed to a table where the book was laying. Zak walked over to it and picked it up.

The cover of the book was made with light brown leather. Zak ran his finger along the spine of the book. It was bound together by a leather strip. The pages were rough on the ends but smooth on the top. The book was hand-made— assumably by the person who resided there before them.

He noticed the tiny details in the illustrations made with a charcoal pencil. The writing of the words was nice, too. It gave Zak a pleasant sensation.

"In a bit, I'm going out to search for food. The book says that there's a nice berry patch around here somewhere." Darryl said.

"Can I come with?" Zak asked.

"You can, but I don't think it'll be good for your leg," Darryl stated.

"Oh, it'll be fine." Zak smiled. Darryl smiled back, then mixed the snow again.

After the snow was completely melted and the water from it has been boiled to remove any bacteria, Darryl and Zak started to get ready to go.

Zak threw on an extra hoodie and gave one to Darryl.

"You ready to go?" Zak asked when Darryl finished tying his shoe.

"Yup," Darryl said. Zak opened the door for Darryl before going outside himself.

Zak shivered, "man, it's cold out here."

"Yeah," Darryl laughed, "you don't get this weather in Florida."

"You live in Florida? I live in Florida, too." Zak said as they started to walk in the direction the book told them to. Zak had the journal in his hand and his backpack on his back.

"Really? Where do you live?" Darryl asked.

"Orlando," Zak smiled.

"Me, too! That's cool," Darryl smiled.

They walked into a forest, all trees bare and covered with snow. The cabin wasn't in sight anymore.

"Okay, so the book says that the berries should be around here somewhere," Zak said while reading the book.

"Do you know if there's a map in there or anything?" Darryl asked, looking at the book in Zak's hands.

"I'll have to look for it when we get back to the cabin," Zak looked up and saw a patch of berries, "look!" He pointed out. There were a few bushes in front of a rock wall. They were covered in snow, but Zak could still see the blue berries underneath.

"What kind of berries are these?" Darryl asked as he walked up to the berry bush and plucked one off, "they look like blueberries."

"I think they _are_ blueberries. Lemme check the book." Zak looked in the book again and read about the berries, "yeah, they're blueberries. It says here that they can survive in temperatures of negative five to negative thirteen degrees."

"Huh," Darryl popped a blueberry into his mouth, "I wonder how cold it is here."

"Me too," Zak said, "we should collect these berries so we can play in the snow!"

Darryl laughed, then started gathering the berries into a basket that Zak pulled out of his bag. Zak collected some, too.

"If we want to keep these fresh, we can dig a hole in the snow outside to keep it cold," Darryl stated.

"Yeah, it's like a fridge!" Zak chuckled. They soon finished gathering all the berries that filled up the basket.

Darryl held the basket on the way back to the cabin. They talked about what they did for a living along the way.

Once they made it back to the cabin, Zak did what Darryl suggested. He dug a hole in front of the cabin and poured all of the berries into it. Darryl was inside making more water from snow.

Zak opened the door to the cabin and said, "Darryl! Wanna play in the snow?"

"Zak, you're such a muffin," Darryl chuckled, but stood up from his crouching position, "but yes, I will play with you."

"Yes!" Zak laughed. He closed the door and waited for Darryl to come outside.

Zak already had a snowball in his hand, ready to throw at Darryl.

"What do you wanna do?" Darryl asked as he opened the door. Once he fully stepped outside, something hit him right in the face. It was cold, but that's because it was snow!

"Zak! I'll get you back for that!" Darryl laughed. He wiped the snow off his face and picked up a handful of snow. He shaped it into a ball quickly and aimed it at Zak, but he was already gone when he looked up.

Zak just laughed and hid behind a rock. He gathered up a whole bunch of snowballs and threw them at Darryl.

"Zak, that's not fair! I don't have cover!" Darryl laughed and threw a snowball at Zak when his head popped up into view. It hit Zak straight in the face, so he got up and threw another snowball at Darryl.

Zak stood up and ran after Darryl, who was already running away. He caught up eventually and tackled Darryl. Soon they were both laughing and laying on their backs, side-by-side.

"That was fun, " Zak chuckled, out of breath from running.

"Yeah," Darryl glanced at Zak for a second before looking back up to the sky.

They laid like that for a second before heading back to the cabin.

"So, what are we going to eat?" Zak asked when he and Darryl were inside.

"I dunno. I guess we could just make something out of the berries. Plus, I don't think the sun is going to set for at least a few more hours." Darryl said.

"We should go exploring for another cabin! We could stay there!" Zak smiled.

"Well, I don't see why not, " Darryl said after thinking for a second, "let's go gather our stuff. Make sure to bring an extra blanket or two. I'll gather our stuff down here."

Zak nodded before heading up the stairs. He grabbed his backpack before heading up, though.

Once up the stairs, Zak put the journal in his backpack. He grabbed a blanket from off of one of the beds and shoved it in his bag.

Once he gathered all of his and Darryl's belongings that they needed, he met up with Darryl downstairs. He also had all of his stuff ready.

"What did you do with the water?" Zak asked.

"I put them in water jugs I found around," Darryl explained, gathering a few logs by the furnace and putting them in his bag, "you ready to go?"

Zak nodded, and they both headed out into the cold wilderness. Zak collected the blueberries on his way out and wrapped them in a cloth.

They walked pretty far — over two miles — before coming across another cabin. It was smaller than the last, but it would do.

Darryl walked up to the door and turned the knob. It wasn't locked this time, luckily!

The cabin looked similar to the last, it was wood with a stone floor. There was a furnace in the far side of the house and bunk beds on the right wall to it.

"Now we can be warm when we sleep!" Zak smiled.

On the wall opposite the beds was a set of table and chairs. There were bookshelves and dressers scattered about on the walls, too.

Zak and Darryl began to look at the furniture all over the room. Darryl looked through the drawers of the dressers and the shelves.

He found a granola bar and a bag of beef jerky on the bookshelves, and a winter coat in one of the dresser drawers. He also found a pack of matches. Once he searched everything, he started to make a fire in the furnace.

While the room started to warm up from the newly-made fire that Darryl started, Zak made himself comfortable on the bottom bunk bed. He took off his backpack and took out the journal.

He flipped to the page behind the berries one, and it read:

_"Cattails are a good source of nutrients. They are easy to find as well. If you want to find them, just look near where the ponds and lakes used to be. They're covered in a thick layer of ice now."_

There was an illustration of a cattail on that page. He flipped to the next one.

_"If you ever come across a cabin, make sure to look under and behind furniture. Things tend to be hidden behind them."_

_Maybe I'll try that later._ Zak thought. He read through some more pages of the book when Darryl sat beside him. "Is there any valuable information in that book?" Darryl chuckled.

"Yeah," Zak smiled, "lots!"

Whoever wrote this journal had a lot of time on their hands.

They sat and read the journal together for a while before it started to get dark.

They made it to a page where there was a map. It showed the whole area. It was _way_ more vast than they imagined. At the top, in big, bold words showed, " **THE** **HOLLOW**." At one of the corners of the map was a crossed out area. Next to it showed, " **DANGER** " in red ink.

"I wonder what that is," Zak stated, pointing to the crossed-out area.

"We definitely should _not_ go there," Darryl said.

"Why not?" Zak asked.

"Because it looks dangerous, you muffin!" Darryl laughed.

"Looks fun to me," Zak chuckled.

They flipped through the pages.

 _"Watch out for bears and wolves. If a wolf comes after you do_ not _run. Make sure to walk away and don't look back. If you ever encounter one, however, light a torch or make a fire. Wolves are scared of fire. If you come across a bear in the distance, just keep far from it and don't go near it."_

 _Wolves? Bears?_ Zak thought.

"Okay, are you ready to eat?" Darryl asked as he stood up. He grabbed a blanket and laid it across the floor in front of the furnace as he'd done before.

"You bet," Zak closed the journal and set it aside. He sat down next to Darryl on the blanket, who already had the blueberries out in front of him.

While Zak was reading the book, Darryl was warming up the blueberries by the furnace for better taste. They became more squishy and flavorful.

They both sat in comfortable silence whilst eating the blueberries. The sound of the crackling fireplace and the warmth of it gave Zak a nice feeling. By now the stars were completely out and Zak could see the faint glow of green lights in the sky.

"Darryl, look!" Zak pointed out the window to the lights. They both got up and looked out the window.

"Let's go see them!" Zak smiled. Darryl nodded as he and Zak grabbed their coats. They raced outside and looked up into the sky.

The Milky Way was clearly visible, which also meant they were far from any city. Where had they crashed? The glow of the northern lights waved through the sky. It was green, blue, and purple. Zak led Darryl to the back of the cabin so they could get a better view.

They sat down next to each other in the snow, not caring about the snow. All they needed was the warmth of each other. Darryl made Zak feel like he was at home, even if he was _miles_ from it. He didn't know why; he'd just met the guy a few days ago, but he liked the feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	3. Blizzard

"The northern lights last night were amazing!" Zak smiled. He'd just woken up a few minutes ago. Darryl was making something on the furnace.

"Yeah, that was the first time I've ever seen them," Darryl said.

"Me, too," Zak sat down next to Darryl by the furnace, "what are you making?"

"I read the journal a bit and now I'm here cooking a rabbit." Darryl laughed.

"Um... how did you get a rabbit?" Zak asked, looking into the pot.

"I'd rather not say. It was a sad process, but it will be worth it in the end."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Zak asked.

"Yeah, can you go look for sticks, please? We're kind of running low on firewood." Darryl said.

"Yup!" Zak hopped up and grabbed his coat. He put it on, then sat on the bottom bunk and put on his shoes and backpack. Once he was finished, he headed outside. Immediately, the cold air hit him. It was still a nice day. The sky was covered in a blanket of clouds and there was only a light breeze.

 _Hopefully there won't be any blizzards._ Zak thought. He trekked out to the forest and found many twigs.

He traveled until he made it to a lake, but he didn't go that far. The lake was covered in a thick layer of ice, just as the journal had said. Since he found a lake, he could look for cattails!

He carefully stepped onto the lake. He looked around the lake and saw cattail stalks everywhere. _Jackpot!_

Zak carefully walked over to them. He collected each of them and put them in his backpack.

Once he collected enough, he decided to head back to the cabin. He noticed a slight change in the breeze. It wasn't a breeze anymore, it was a strong wind.

Zak hugged himself due to the cold as he headed towards the cabin. It wasn't in sight, so he had to get back from following the footprints in the snow. _Why didn't I bring the journal for the map?_ Zak thought.

Snow started to fall. It wasn't a blizzard, but it was close to becoming one. He needed to get back, and fast!

Zak walked faster as the snow started piling up, covering up his footprints. He started to get worried. What if he gets lost?

He walked for about five minutes, but it felt like an hour to him. He thought his face was turning blue.

Zak held his hands out in front of him. They definitely _were_ blue. His walking slowed, and he could barely stand. He wobbled with every step, the cold becoming too much for him.

He could see the cabin in the distance, not far, but he knew he wouldn't be able to make it.

It was like his coat wasn't doing anything for him. The wind was now blowing harshly. Zak felt his legs give out and his vision blur. He fell forward. Luckily the snow was there to act as a cushion.

"Where is he? It's been like thirty minutes!" Darryl exclaimed. He stood up, put on his coat, and ran outside. The wind was blowing way worse than the last time he was outside.

Due to the harsh wind and snow, Darryl couldn't see but a few feet in front of him. He waked in the direction that he saw Zak go in. He didn't go far until he came across someone laying on the ground. The person was covered in snow, making it hard to see who it was, but Darryl recognized them immediately.

"Zak!" Darryl ran up to Zak and helped him stand up. Zak was barely conscious.

"Zak, wake up. We need to get inside." Darryl said, which brought Zak back barely. He put Zak's arm around his shoulders and helped him walk back to the cabin.

Once inside, Darryl placed more blankets and a pillow on the ground in front of the furnace for Zak. He helped Zak take his backpack off, then laid him on the blankets and covered him up. Zak's face was pale and his nose was running.

Darryl got up and took the pot off the furnace. "The rabbit is done. If you eat some, it will warm you up. Stay by the fire for now." Zak nodded and sat up to warm himself up by the fire while Darryl prepared some cooked rabbit in a bowl for him.

Once he was done, he brought the wooden bowl and spoon full of cooked rabbit over to Zak. Zak immediately took it and started eating, not caring how hot it was. It burned his tongue, but it was good.

Darryl sat down next to Zak and ate his own bowl of rabbit.

"Is it good?" Darryl asked. Zak nodded.

Darryl waited a second before asking, "are you warm enough?"

"Y-yeah, I'm getting better." Zak glanced at Darryl and smiled. The color had returned to his face.

"I hope you don't have hypothermia," Darryl said. He grabbed the journal and looked through it to find out if Zak had hypothermia or not.

He found a page on hypothermia and frostbite. He read it aloud to Zak.

_"How to find out if you have hypothermia or frostbite._

_Hypothermia is a condition when you lose body heat faster than you can produce it. Symptoms: confusion._

_Frostbite is a condition in which skin and the tissue just below the skin freeze. This occurs when skin is exposed to extreme cold for too long. First, your skin becomes very cold and red, then numb, hard and pale."_

"Let me see your hand," Darryl held his hand out for Zak to put his hand in Darryl's.

Zak put his hand on Darryl's. Darryl started to inspect Zak's hand. His hand was very cold to the touch, and it was pale and hard. "Are your hands numb?" Darryl asked.

"I guess," Zak shrugged.

"Well, then you have frostbite. I don't know about hypothermia," Darryl tried letting go of Zak's hand.

"Don't let go," Zak said. Darryl didn't let go of his hand then. Zak squeezed his hand and laid his head on Darryl's shoulder.

Good thing Zak wasn't looking at Darryl, or he'd see how much of a blushing mess he was. Darryl eventually heard Zak's breathing slow, indicating that he was asleep. He just sat there, not wanting to wake Zak up. Zak needed the rest.

Darryl eventually fell asleep, too. The blizzard outside was muffled by the walls of the cabin, but the blizzard cleared up. The clouds parted and the sun broke through. A mist hung low on the horizon as the two boys slept peacefully.  
  


Darryl woke up and Zak was still laying his head on him and their hands were still conjoined. It was cold. The fire in the furnace was out, and it was dark outside.

 _How long were we asleep?_ Darryl thought as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. He slipped his hand out of Zak's and he took Zak off of him gently. He placed Zak's head on the pillow he put on the blanket earlier. He covered Zak up in a blanket and got up to sleep on his bed.

Just as he started to climb the ladder to get up on the top bunk bed, he heard Zak say in a sleepy voice, "where are you going?"

Darryl turned around and saw Zak sitting up. His eyes were barely open. "I'm going to sleep up here," Darryl said.

Zak groaned sleepily and said, "just sleep down here."

"No, it's alright," Darryl smiled, "you need room."

"Nooo, I'm so lonely," Zak plopped back down, "come over here."

Darryl just rolled his eyes and smiled. He jumped off the ladder and laid down next to Zak. Darryl covered up and Zak cuddled up next to Darryl.

"Thank you for everything, Darryl," Zak smiled.

"You're welcome," Darryl smiled.

The next morning, Zak, surprisingly, woke up before Darryl. _He must've been really tired._ Zak thought. He got up and gathered some wood for a fire. He didn't actually know how to make one, so he got out the journal. He read a bit on how to start a fire, so he did what it said.

There are three ways in the book on how to start a fire. One, with a magnifying glass and the sun. Two, with matches. Three, with a lighter. If you want to start a fire faster, use lighter fluid. If you want the fire to last a long time, use coal.

Zak grabbed the lighter that was sitting on top of the furnace and placed some wood in. He flicked the lighter which emitted a small flame. He reached his hand into the furnace and held it next to some of the sticks until they lit.

"Zak, what are you doing?" Darryl asked sleepily. Zak looked behind him and saw Darryl sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning! I was making a fire so it wouldn't be so cold in here," Zak chuckled and sat down next to Darryl.

"How are you feeling?" Darryl asked, half asleep.

"I'm good," Zak smiled, "what about you?"

"I'm fine," Darryl chuckled.

"Do we have anything to eat for breakfast?" Zak asked after a few seconds.

Darryl shrugged and grabbed his bag. He opened it and pulled out a few things. He pulled out a few granola bars, that bag of beef jerky, and the jug of water.

"That's all I have," Darryl put his bag up and they both ate a few things.

Once they were done, Darryl spoke up, "Hey, you wanna head out today? We need to get more food and supplies."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Zak said, standing up, "right now?"

"If you want to," Darryl smiled. Zak wanted to, so they both started gathering their stuff. They looked under furniture, just as the journal had said, and found a few extra things that were useful to them.

Once they were both ready, they went back out into the cold once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	4. Watchtower

Surprisingly, during Zak and Darryl's time out in the wilderness they hadn't encountered any wolves or bears. They didn't even see them in the distance.

Zak was currently looking at the map in the journal. They were headed to a watchtower up on a hill. They could see it out in the distance. It would be around another thirty minutes until they got there, though.

The snow was around two feet tall. It was difficult to walk through, but Zak and Darryl had each other for support when they needed it.

They notice a structure in the distance— something up on a tall hill. They decide to go to it. There could be supplies. As they neared the hill, they saw the structure more clearly.

"It looks like a watchtower," Darryl states, "going directly up the hill will be difficult. We should look around for another way up." Zak nods, and they walk around the hill.

They looked out in the distance and saw a figure. It looked like some sort of... dog. There weren't dogs out there, and Zak and Darryl knew that. It must've been a wolf.

The side where the wolf was located was an easy way up to the watchtower. If they tried to go past the wolf, the wolf would spot them. They resorted to the journal. Zak took it out of his backpack and flipped to a page directly about wolves.

He looked for the section on how to get past one.

_"How to get past a wolf._

_Normally, to escape a wolf, you would just sneak around it. Sometimes it might spot you— if it isn't feeding on a carcass. Even if it is feeding on a carcass, it might still catch onto your scent. If a wolf goes after you, DO NOT RUN! Walk away from it. That is the easiest way to get away from a wolf._

_If you are carrying meat on you or are wounded, however, the wolf will catch onto your scent easier and have a higher chance to attack you. Sometimes wolves will attack you unprovoked._

_If you see a wolf coming after you, start a fire if you have the wood. They will run away from you even from the smallest fires. If you have a flare, use it. If you don't have any of that, get ready for it to attack you. The best way to fight off an attacking wolf is to, if you have a weapon, stab it or hit it. If you do not have a weapon, then punch it."_

"Zak, do you have a flare?" Darryl asked.

"I don't know. I just grabbed random stuff from the plane." Zak stated. He set his bag on the ground and looked through it. He eventually found a few flares.

"Let's do this." Zak smiled. Darryl nodded with a smile. They crept over to the path to the watchtower, still keeping their distance from the wolf. Zak was ready to light a flare just in case if anything happened.

They made it to the path without the wolf noticing them, thankfully.

Just as they started walking on the path, they heard growling from the wolf. It was barking and charging at them. "Zak, light the flare!" Darryl yelled anxiously. Zak quickly pulled the cap off the flare and sparks came out of it, emitting a red light.

The wolf started whimpering and ran away, out of sight. Zak and Darryl took this to their advantage and rushed to the deer carcass the wolf was feeding on. They needed to harvest the deer before the wolf came back.

They had read about harvesting meat in the journal; it wasn't a fun process.

Zak and Darryl knew what they had to do. They rolled up their sleeves, glanced at each other, and got to work.  
  


When Zak and Darryl were done, they had blood on them, but a lot of meat that would fill them up when they cooked it. They were proud of their work, but it was disgusting.

They headed back to the path towards the watchtower. It was already getting dark, so they needed to get to safety. They made it up the path after a while of walking in the cold and saw how big the watchtower actually was. It was tall and sturdy.

Zak and Darryl headed up the wooden stairs, each step creaking due to it being freezing temperatures. Luckily the steps had grips on them, or else they would've slipped on them.

It only took a minute or so to travel up the stairs, but the gaining wind made it hard to move. Hopefully, there wouldn't be another blizzard. Plus, if there was, Zak and Darryl would be safe inside the watchtower.

They made it up to the balcony of the watchtower. There were many windows look in the room, but they were all frosted over. Zak looked for an entrance to the watchtower and eventually found it on the opposite side of where the stairs were.

He grabbed the doorknob, ignoring the cold touch, and twisted it. The door opened, revealing a dark room inside. There were bunk beds in the middle of the room, and a furnace on one of the walls. The room wasn't as cold as outside.

There was a table near the furnace that had a few things on top: a pack of beef jerky, an oil lamp, and some cloth bandages. Zak walked over to the table and gathered those items. He was inspecting the oil lamp when Darryl walked in.

"Find anything?" Darryl asked.

"Yeah," Zak said, glancing at Darryl, "there was this oil lamp, some bandages, and a pack of beef jerky."

"Hmm. That oil lamp will be useful," Darryl hummed, "I'll get a fire going so it won't be so cold in here."

Zak nodded and looked for more stuff. He felt the room warm up slightly as he looked under the bunk beds. He saw a small first aid kit, so he pulled it out. He opened the case and found some pain relief and more bandages.

After looking around for a bit, Zak walked back over to where Darryl was sitting by the fire. On top of the furnace was a pan that held some meat. Zak sat down next to Darryl on the floor.

"This meat is going to be amazing," Zak smiled, "yes, the process wasn't fun, but it will be worth it in the end."

Darryl hummed in response. They both sat in a comfortable silence until the meat started to sizzle, letting Zak and Darryl know that it had defrosted.

Zak smiled as the smell of cooked meat filled his nose. It's been a while since he'd eaten something _good_.

Soon the meat was done cooking, and Darryl put some meat on two separate plates that he found in a nearby cupboard. He handed one to Zak, then sat down next to him.

They had to eat with their hands, but the amazing taste of the meat made up for it. When they were done eating, Zak stood up and said, "let's go outside! The stars are out!" He reached out his hands to help Darryl up. Zak helped Darryl up and made sure to grab a blanket or two. Zak ran outside and sat down on the balcony.

Zak waited for Darryl to come outside as he covered himself up in the blanket. The clouds had cleared up, showing the clear night sky. The wind was still, so it wasn't as cold.

Darryl soon came outside and sat down next to Zak. Zak wrapped the blanket over Darryl. Since the blanket wasn't that big, Zak had to move closer to Darryl.

"Thank you," Darryl stated. Zak just smiled in response. They both brought their attention to the sky. It was really beautiful. Since there were no lights around, the Milky Way was clearly visible; they gazed at the vivid colors of the galaxy. It stretched across the sky, from one side of the horizon to the other.

"It's cold, but I don't wanna go inside." Zak chuckled. He scooted closer to Darryl and rested his head on his shoulder. He was happy. His belly was full of deer meat and he was with someone he enjoyed being with.

After a while of stargazing, Zak felt himself drifting away into sleep. Darryl seemed to notice, so he spoke up, "Zak are you awake?"

"Mhm.." Zak hummed tiredly. He sat up and stretched.

"Let's go inside. We need to rest for tomorrow." Darryl stood and helped Zak up. Zak wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and they both headed inside. Zak immediately plopped down on the bottom bunk and fell asleep. Darryl put out the fire a bit before heading over to the bunk beds.

He noticed that Zak looked uncomfortable, so he placed the pillow under his head and covered him up in an extra blanket. When he was done, he got up on the top bunk and wrapped himself up in a blanket.

He soon drifted off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	5. Mother Nature's Painkiller

Zak and Darryl were already traveling early in the morning. They had to head out early so they could cover more ground before dark. They were heading toward a railroad they saw on the map. It supposedly led to another part of The Hollow. They only had to walk about another mile until they were there.

The day was clear with no wind. They were lucky they didn't have to travel with the 50-mph wind blowing on them. The only thing bad was that they had to trudge through three-foot deep snow. It must've snowed the night before.

They were walking without any breaks, but once they got to the railroad they would be able to take one.

After about ten minutes of walking in silence, Zak saw something in the distance. "I think that's the railroad," Zak pointed to two lines barely visible under the snow. They headed towards it; once they got closer, they knew that was it.

There was a de-railed train ahead of them. They decided to go to it because it might have supplies in it; it's the way they were heading in, anyway.

One of the doors of the train car was open. Zak hopped inside and looked around. There wasn't really anything except for what looked like a few rocks. Zak picked one up and inspected it. It looked like coal.

He pulled out the journal and flipped to the fire page. There was an illustration of a piece of coal on one page, and it looked exactly like the one in Zak's hand. He put it and the journal in his bag, then hopped out of the train car.  
  


To get to the next area Zak and Darryl were supposed to go through a tunnel. When they got to it, it was too late. There was no more tunnel; it was now covered in snow.

"How are we supposed to get to the next area?" Zak asked. They could either climb the mountain in front of them, or they could walk 20 more miles to get to another entrance.

"Think we can climb?" Darryl asked.

"Heck yeah!" Zak chuckled. They looked around for an easy route and eventually came across one. There was only about ten feet to climb, and it looked really easy.

Surrounding the bottom of the cliff that they were going to climb were bushes of rose hips. Zak read something about them in the journal but forgot what it was.

"I'll go first," Darryl stated, "you're injured. Once I get up, I'll help you up."

Darryl began to climb. He got a few feet up. When he reached for a rock sticking out and grabbed it, he slipped, causing him to fall.

Nothing was broken or sprained, just bruised. When Darryl fell, Zak immediately rushed to his side.

"Are you ok?" Zak asked with worry in his voice.

"Yeah," Darryl groaned as he tried to stand, "I think so."

Zak didn't let him stand, just in case if anything _was_ broken. "I think I remember reading something about these rose hips," Zak said, pointing to the rose hips on some nearby bushes. He took out the journal and found the page he needed.

It read,

_"Rose Hips._

_Mother nature's painkiller._

_Sometimes Mother Nature is your pharmacist. Craft rose hips into a preparation that can be boiled in water to produce a tea with pain-relieving properties. Keep your eyes open for other natural remedies."_

"I just need to start a fire, then I can make this," Zak said. He took off his bag and pulled out stuff to make a fire.

"But won't that take a while? It should be dark by then. And can't you just use some of the pain relievers we have?" Darryl asked.

"I just want you to be okay. I'm saving the pain relievers for emergencies." Zak lined up sticks and lit them.

"Good point," Darryl stated.

Soon a fire was going and the sun was setting behind the horizon, painting the sky an orange and yellow color.

Zak gathered some rose hips and put them, along with some water, in a pot. He then placed the pot on the fire and waited for the rosehip tea to boil.

Zak sat next to Darryl. They talked about numerous things. After a few minutes, the sun was only but a sliver along the horizon, Zak saw steam rise from the pot and heard bubbling coming from it. The tea was done!

He quickly took the tea off of the fire and placed it in the snow. He took out two cups and poured some tea in them. Zak wanted to try the tea himself.

It was hot, so Zak had to place his back in the snow to let it cool off. Darryl did the same.

Once the tea was cooled off a bit, Zak took a sip. It tasted like regular unsweetened tea. He liked it, so he drank more until his cup was empty. Darryl only drank a few sips.

"You're drinking that really fast," Darryl chuckled.

"It's good," Zak smiled and poured some more tea in his cup. Darryl finished his and got some as well.

It was completely dark now, so Zak grabbed a few blankets out of his backpack and laid one on the ground for him and Darryl to sit on. He then used the others to wrap him and Darryl up in them. When it turns dark, it gets at least 30 degrees colder. As if it wasn't cold enough.

The tea made them feel warm against the cold, dry air. Once the tea was completely gone, Zak laid down on the blanket. He made a pillow under the blanket out of snow so he didn't have to use his bag.

He decided to make one for Darryl, too. Darryl was still sitting up and drinking his tea. After he was done, he laid down next to Zak and covered himself up in the blankets.

"Thanks for the pillow," Darryl chuckled.

"You're welcome." Zak smiled.

They soon fell asleep to the sound of the fire crackling in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	6. Milton

Zak woke up the next morning feeling strangely warm for the weather. Once he was awake enough to realize what was going on, he noticed he was really close to Darryl.

Zak could feel the blood rushing to his face, but he didn't want to move. He might wake Darryl up. He just stayed there, scared to move at all.

Darryl soon moved a bit, indicating that he woke up. Zak quickly moved away without Darryl realizing.

Darryl sat up and rubbed his eyes. He turned to Zak to wake him up but saw that he was already awake. "You sleep well?" Darryl asked before yawning.

"Yeah," Zak sat up.

"Good," Darryl said as he stood up, "we're gonna have to climb up this thing."

Darryl helped Zak up, and they both started to gather their things. Zak picked up the blankets and tucked them in his bag tightly. Once they were done, they walked up to where they needed to climb.

"I'm going first this time," Zak stated, starting to climb up before Darryl could stop him.

"Zak, your leg," Darryl said. Zak was already almost to the top. He pulled himself up over the ledge and stood up, looking down at Darryl. He was looking back up at Zak.

"Come on up!" Zak smiled. Darryl began to climb and soon made it to the top.

They began to walk along what looked like a path. They only walked a few minutes until they came across a plane that crashed into a tree. It looked like it had been there for a few days, probably a week.

There was rubble scattered along the ground, most of it being scrap metal from the plane. "Oh no," Zak said, "let's look for anyone who might've been on this plane that survived." They searched around the area, looking behind rocks and under rubble. They couldn't find anyone. The only thing they could find was blood on the ground.

There was a trail, but it soon only led to more droplets of blood, then nothing. At least they had an idea of where that person went. They headed further down the path until they made it to a road.

"There were people that lived here?" Zak asked, surprised by the fact that people lived in this environment.

"Maybe something happened here that made this place how it is," Darryl thought out loud. They were walking along the road and soon came across a bridge. There were abandoned cars lined up on it, all facing in the same direction like they were trying to get away from something. Darryl thought about that for a second but didn't want to bring it up.

"Maybe we could search some of the cars for supplies," Zak stated. He jogged up to one of the cars and opened the door. He got inside and opened the glove box. There was nothing inside; the car was mainly empty.

He got out and shut the door behind him. "I doubt there's gonna be anything in any of these," Zak stated. They continued on the bridge, looking through the frosted glass of the car windows to see anything they might need.

There was, unfortunately, nothing. Zak and Darryl had enough food, though, for a while. They soon made it off of the bridge and back onto the road. Zak looked up to the sky to see how much light they had left. They had around an hour to go until sunset.

They walked around two more miles and they made it to a thick forest. The pavement road turned to gravel and it started to get dark. As it got darker, it got colder.

Zak and Darryl began to walk faster, not wanting to get caught up in the blizzard that was brewing. Dark clouds had blanketed the sky and the wind started to pick up.

Wanting to find a safe place before it was completely dark, Zak kept his eyes peeled for any building or cave. "Are you ok, Zak?" Darryl asked while shivering. Zak didn't realize, but he was hugging himself and his face felt like he buried it in the snow and kept it there.

"Y-yeah," Zak stuttered. They walked a bit and Darryl soon saw something up ahead. It was a building!

"Zak, look!" Darryl pointed to the building in the distance. Zak cheered, but it was barely audible. He was extremely cold.

Zak and Darryl picked up their pace and soon made it to the building. They entered the big doors and closed them behind them. It was already dark by then, so the inside of the building was even darker. There were no windows— if there was, they weren't doing much.

"It's so dark, I don't know if I can start a fire," Darryl said, not even able to see Zak.

"I have a flare in my bag," Zak said.

"Ok, that would work well," Darryl said. Zak reached into his bag and pulled out a flare. He pulled off the cap, causing it to emit red sparks, lighting up most of the room with a dim, red light.

"Great, thank you," Darryl said. He looked around for a good spot to put a fire. There was a part where there was no wood on the floor, only dirt. He decided to make the fire there. He pulled a few sticks out of his bag and placed them into a cone shape on the ground.

That wasn't enough, so he decided to look around the small building for any sort of wood or paper, Zak following close behind.

There were rows of seats. Were they in a church? If they were, there should be lots of books and paper to use for a fire. Darryl looked around and in-between the seats. He found five books, then headed back to where the fire was going to be made.

Darryl ripped out a few pieces of paper from one of the books and ripped them into strips. He placed them on the sticks and pulled out the lighter. He flicked the lighter and it emitted a small flame. Darryl held the lighter close to the paper strips until they lit.

Soon the flame from the paper spread to the sticks, and Darryl placed more books on it.

"Is there anything that needs to be cooked? Any food?" Darryl asked.

"Yeah, I think we have some meat left," Zak said. He took off his bag and dug around for the meat. He finally found it; the meat was stored in a container that he found in the watchtower.

He took it and a pan out. Why do they keep such heavy pans in their bags?

Zak handed the meat and pan to Darryl to let him make it. Darryl took out the meat and placed it on the pan. He then placed the pan on the fire and listened to it sizzle.

Zak sat down next to where Darryl was sitting by the fire. They both waited for the meat to finish.  
  


The next morning, Zak and Darryl were able to get a clear look at what the building looked like on the inside and outside. It was a church. When they finished gathering their stuff, they headed back on the trail, hoping to find the lost survivor and any way of escape.

They came across another bridge, this one bigger than the last, but this one was empty. There weren't any cars on it. The thing that caught their eye was the town behind it.

So people _did_ live here. Maybe some people still do.

Zak and Darryl kept on traveling, soon making it to the bridge and across. There was a sign in front of the town that said, "Welcome to Milton!" The town was small and most buildings were made of logs.

They entered the town. It was abandoned. There were cars parked on the side of the road in front of some of the buildings. There was one house, however, on top of a hill.

"Hey, Darryl.. do you see that?" Zak asked. He was looking at the house on the hill.

Darryl turned to face the house. There was smoke coming from the chimney.

"Let's go inside," Darryl said, heading up the hill already.

Zak followed close behind, and they soon made it to the front porch.

"Should I knock?" Darryl asked.

"I don't know," Zak said.

Darryl just opened the door slowly and he and Zak both walked inside. As soon as they made it inside and shut the door behind them, there was a gunshot. Luckily the shot didn't hit Zak or Darryl.

"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?" A man with a thick French accent spoke. He was standing a few feet away from them, holding up a shotgun. He wore glasses and a dark grey hoodie

Zak and Darryl, not knowing what to do in that situation, just put their hands up and backed up to the shut door.

"Answer," the man spoke again, "or next time you'll see just how good my aim is."

"M-my name is Darryl, and this is Z-Zak," Darryl stuttered, "o-our plane crashed about a week ago, and we had to survive in this weather during that time. We don't mean any harm."

The man looked at them for a second and debated whether he should trust them or not. He did, and he turned and walked behind a corner. "Follow me," he said, "and don't steal _anything_."

Darryl and Zak followed the man into a room with a couch, chair, and a fireplace that was burning with a big fire. It brought warmth into the room. The man sat down in a chair opposite the couch.

"Sit." The man said, instructing Darryl and Zak to sit on the couch across from him. They did as the man said.

Once they were settled on the couch, the man spoke up, "my name is Vincent. My plane crashed just like yours had. I'm sure you passed it on your way here, am I right?"

"Y-yes, you're right," Darryl said.

"It was all because of the lights. There was a storm that night— a big one," Vincent said, "it shut down all of the power all over the world. It's called a geomagnetic storm."

Zak and Darryl were shocked.

"If you've noticed, there are more bears and wolves out. They've gotten more aggressive, too. I don't know what that's about," Vincent continued, "I had a buddy on that plane— I don't know what happened to him, but I hope he's alive somewhere out there.."

"Have you seen anyone out there?" Vincent asked.

"No..." Darryl said, looking down.

"Where are we, anyway?" Zak asked out of curiosity.

"The town of Milton," Vincent stated.

"No, I mean _where_ are we? Where in the world? We were on a plane from California to Florida. How could we be in weather this extreme?" Zak asked.

"I don't know why you would be here, then, but this is northern Canada," Vincent said. How are they in Canada? Where was the plane taking them?

Vincent, after a few moments he spoke up, "you can stay here tonight if you want. Either that or you can continue on your journey. There's still a lot of light left."

"We might continue on our journey," Darryl said, "but I don't know where to go now that the power is out and there's no one to help us."

"C-can I come with you guys?" Vincent asked. He must've been really lonely in this house by himself, "I know the route well. I explored it a bit and there's some climbing gear upstairs that we can use."

"Yeah, you can come with us," Darryl said.

"Thank you, it's really lonely out here by myself. And I hope I can find my friend." Vincent smiled.

"Not a problem," Darryl smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	7. The Mountain Trail

Once Vincent was done gathering his things, including the climbing gear, he met with Darryl and Zak downstairs.

"Ready?" Darryl asked. Vincent nodded. They headed out of the house. The sun was still high up in the sky. Zak could see it through the blanket of clouds. It was snowing lightly.

They didn't know how long they would be traveling until they find another cabin to stay in for the night. They didn't wanna risk running into wolves in the middle of the night.

They headed out of Milton, and into a snowy field. There were mountains not far ahead. That was where they were headed.

They trekked through the snow until they reached a cliff they had to climb. It was like the last one— the one that Zak and Darryl had to climb up after falling once.

They climbed up it with ease and continued on their journey. It was now just walking in a small gorge. Zak made sure to collect any rose hips he saw along the way. He didn't know if he'd need them or not.

They hiked up a mountain path and made it to some sort of building. It had a computer in it and some other things that were useless. Outside of the building, however, was a rope that they had to go down. It was tied to a boulder and looked sturdy.

Zak peered down the edge of the cliff. They were really high up.

Vincent was the first to go down, next was Darryl, then Zak. When Zak was almost to the ground, about ten feet, the rope snapped. Zak dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Oh my goodness! Zak, are you ok?" Darryl asked, immediately rushing to his side to help him up.

"Yeah," Zak said, "it just knocked the wind out of me."

"Ok," Darryl said, "thank goodness you're not hurt."

They continued on the path that Vincent directed them in, and into a cave. It was dark in there, so Zak lit a torch that he'd made from a stick and some cloth.

They explored through the cave, seeing that someone was there before them. There was a bag in a corner, and Vincent recognized it immediately. He ran up to it and picked it up. He had a surprised look on his face.

"This is his..." Vincent said, "i-i thought he was dead." Tears threatened to spill, but he wiped them away.

Darryl walked up to Vincent and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "we'll find him. I promise." Vincent nodded thankfully and they continued to walk through the cave. Vincent brought the bag with him. Zak and Darryl noticed how Vincent never said his friend's name.

They soon saw natural light from around a bend in the corner. They rushed to it and what they saw surprised them.

There was a man with a bear on top of him. The man was taking a lot of damage, already having gashes in him. He couldn't do anything.

No one knew what to do. Vincent had a shotgun but he was too shocked to do anything.

Zak looked around and saw a rifle sitting on the ground. It was probably owned by the man getting mauled by a bear. Zak, not thinking, picked up the rifle, turned off the safety, and aimed it at the bear's face.

Darryl tried to stop him, but it was too late. Zak pulled the trigger and the bear roared, then ran away.

The man was laying on the ground, blood gushing out of the fresh wounds fast. Zak slung the shotgun over his back, then walked over to the man and tried to pick him up, causing the man to groan in pain.

Darryl and Vincent, once they snapped back to reality, rushed to help Zak. They followed the only trail and walked slowly. They soon reached a cabin which they assumed was the man's.

They brought him inside, and once they did, they noticed that other people were there. There were three other people there: one guy that was wearing a green ski mask, and two other people that were wearing glasses. They looked a bit frightened, probably because their friend was bleeding out.

"What happened?" One of them asked, he had a British accent.

"Bear," Vincent answered. The guy with the British accent nodded. He rushed over to a cabinet as Zak, Darryl, and Vincent laid the wounded man on a couch. He soon came back with gauzes and antiseptic.

"Here, let me do it," the man said. Zak, Darryl, and Vincent moved out of the way and let the British man fix up the wounded man on the couch.

After a few minutes, the British man was done. The wounded man laid there, asleep, now wrapped up in gauze bandages.

"I'll make some tea," the British man said, then stood up from where he was kneeling. He put a teapot full of water on the stove and got rose hips ready for the actual tea.

"So," the British man said, "who are you?"

"My name is Darryl. This is Zak, and this is Vincent." Darryl said, pointing to his friends as he said their names.

"Cool," the British man said, "my name is George (just to clear this up, it's spifey). The wounded guy is Zelk. The guy in the ski mask is Mega, and the guy in the glasses over there is Dave." Dave and Mega waved and smiled as their names were called.

"I'm afraid that we'll need antibiotics to treat Zelk's wound or else it will get infected. We don't have any, do you?" George asked.

"I don't think so. We'll check." Darryl said. The trio looked through their bags and only found painkillers and other medical stuff.

"I know a place where we can get some," George said, "but none of us can go."

"We can, if you want," Zak said.

"Really?" George asked, "but why would you do that for us? You just met us."

"We won't just let someone die," Vincent said.

"Thank you," George smiled warmly. He walked over to a map on a wall. It was a map of The Hollow. George pointed to a building on the map. It was pretty big. In big, bold words above the building said, _"Carter Hydro Dam."_

It was pretty far away, but Zak didn't want someone to die because they were too lazy or scared to go to a dam.

"I'm up for it," Zak said.

"Me, too," Vincent said.

"Okay. We'll head out tomorrow. It's getting dark." Darryl said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	8. The Dam

"You ready to go?" Darryl asked Zak who just got done packing up his stuff. He nodded and slung his bag over his shoulders.

Vincent was waiting by the door for them. They walked over to him and they left the cabin. It was snowing lightly, with only a small breeze. It wasn't _too_ cold like it normally was.

There wasn't much snow on the ground, either. The sun peeked through the clouds, causing sun rays to beam through the tiny holes in the blanketing clouds. That brought a little bit of warmth to Zak's skin.

They would have to travel around 20 miles, which would take around a day to walk unless the weather got bad. They couldn't run, due to Zak's sprained ankle. It was almost healed, though.

They soon made it to a small valley. They were walking alongside a small stream with bare trees on the sides of it.

There were a few rosehip bushes that they passed on the way. Zak and Darryl collected them, knowing their use.

Soon they made it to a low mountain that they had to walk up. On the other side of the mountain was the area where the dam was located.

There were a few trees up there, but it was mostly snow. Clouds rolled in, and fog hung low on the ground. The snow stopped, and rain sprinkled down.

"It's been a while since I felt rain," Zak stated.

"Heh, me too," Darryl said. Vincent was ahead of them, not really paying attention to the conversation they were having.

They continued on their journey and stopped when they got to the bottom of the mountain. They were in a thick forest, bare trees blocking their view from the sky. It wasn't bad; the trees at least blocked the heavy rain pouring down.

"Can we make a fire?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah," Darryl said, "the rain isn't hitting us enough to not make one."

"Ok," Vincent said, starting to walk off, "I'm getting some wood."

It started to get dark. The sun was setting, painting the sky a beautiful mix of orange, red, and pink.

While Vincent was gone, Darryl decided to set up a small fire with the little wood they had. He set it up, then sat down next to Zak.

Zak was hugging his knees and was staring off into space, not paying attention to Darryl saying his name.

Soon the voice of Darryl faded in, causing Zak to snap out of his trance.

"Yeah?" Zak asked.

"I was gonna ask you if we had any leftover meat," Darryl glanced at their backpacks on the ground and then looked back at Zak.

"Oh," Zak looked away from Darryl and to the ground, "no I don't think so."

"Is something wrong?" Darryl asked, his voice soft and sincere.

"Yeah," Zak said.

"What's wrong, Zak? You can tell me anything. I'm here for you." Darryl smiled softly.

"Thank you, Darryl," Zak glanced at Darryl and smiled, "I was just thinking about my family. Are we ever going to get home?" Zak's smile faded.

"Of course we are," Darryl smiled, "although it might not be the same with the power out, we'll make it back. I promise." _Don't make promises you don't know you can keep._

Zak smiled and hugged Darryl. They stayed there in the embrace for a minute or so and broke up to the sound of Vincent's voice.

"Uhh, what are you guys doing?"

Darryl and Zak split, their faces red. Vincent had a few logs and sticks in his arms and sat them down by the fire. He crouched and started piling the logs on the small campfire. He pulled out a lighter from his back pocket and lit the fire.

Soon there was a fire.

The bright orange flames of the fire danced around the logs, sending small ashes out into the cool, night sky. Vincent was already asleep after thirty minutes of the fire being made. They'd eaten a bit of food in that time.

Zak and Darryl sat by the fire, not really talking about much. They just enjoyed the warmth of the fire and the company of each other.

Zak was getting tired, so he said with a yawn, "I'm going to bed. I'm really tired."

"Me, too," Darryl said, standing up to put the fire out, leaving it with only burning embers.

They each slept in separate bedrolls— ones that George had given them. They each sat on different sides of the fire.

Soon it was quiet. There was only a slight crackle of the fire, then nothing.

Zak faced towards Darryl, hoping to see his face, but Darryl was facing the opposite direction.

Zak couldn't sleep. When he tried, he got scared. There could be anything out there— wolves, bears, and other dangerous animals. He felt like he was there for hours, allowing his mind to play tricks on him.

He heard sounds. He heard wolves howling and growling.

"D-Darryl?" Zak asked.

"Hm?" Darryl hummed. He sounded tired. Zak heard shuffling, indicating that Darryl had turned to face him.

It was completely dark— no moon, no stars, and the fire was only low embers that emitted no light.

"Can I sleep by you?" Zak asked.

"Yeah," Darryl said. Zak stood up and grabbed his blankets. He walked over to where Darryl was sleeping, trying not to step on anything that he couldn't see along the way.

Zak laid down in his bedroll next to Darryl and covered up with his blankets.

Once he got settled, he got cold.

"Darryl?" Zak asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Darryl asked.

"I'm cold."

Darryl scooted closer to Zak and wrapped his arms around him. A blush crept onto Zak's face.

"Better?" Darryl asked.

"Yes," Zak smiled, "thank you."

The next day, the trio packed up their stuff and continued in the direction of the hydro dam. Vincent, surprisingly, didn't comment on how Zak and Darryl were sleeping together. _Not that way._

Zak looked on the map after around an hour of walking and said they were almost there.

Once at the dam, they went inside. It was old and rusty-looking. It smelled weird in there and looked as if no one had been in there for _years_.

It was pretty big on the inside— most rooms were filled with junk, however.

They looked around for a bit, only finding a few trinkets in lockers or cabinets. There were three stories there, all underground. They were looking for a specific locker. It wouldn't be hard to find. It was all white and had medical symbols on it.

They found it on the first floor. All they needed now was the key.

They quickly skimmed through the rooms. They split up, all looking on the three different floors. Zak's anxiety started to kick in.

Zak was on the third floor, all the way on the bottom. He had a torch with him; it was extremely dark without it.

He rummaged through a few drawers in one of the rooms, looking for the key and any sort of supplies that they might need.

He found a pack of beef jerky— not expired, surprisingly. He closed that door and opened the next. There was nothing in that one.

Just as he closed the drawer, he heard clattering, as if something fell down off of a shelf nearby. Zak turned around abruptly. Nothing was there except for a can rolling on the ground toward him. _Strange._

Zak picked up the can and inspected it closely. The label was faded away, so he couldn't read what it was. He shook it, and there was clanking from inside. He took off the plastic lid off of the can and inside was the key!

The key looked like the locker that it went to— all white with a red medical symbol on it.

Zak smiled and gasped in surprise. He grabbed the key and ran back up the stairs to the first floor where Darryl was. Both Vincent and Darryl were there.

"Hey, Zak, we were just about to go get you." Darryl smiled.

"I got it," Zak smiled.

"You got what?" Darryl asked. He and Vincent both had a confused look on their faces.

"I got the key," Zak was confused at their confusion, "we were looking for it."

"Uhh," Vincent said, "it's right here." Vincent held out his hand and on it was a key. It was the same exact key that Zak had found.

"How?" Zak asked, "I have it right here." Zak held out his hand but nothing was there. He had no key.

"What? But I had it!" Zak said. He was confused more than ever now.

Vincent looked at Zak weirdly, then walked off to where the locker was. Darryl shrugged and followed him, Zak following shortly after.

Vincent turned the key to the lock in the locker. It opened with a _click!_ Vincent popped the locker open and saw all of the medical supplies inside. There was everything they needed: gauzes, antibiotics, painkillers, antiseptics, etc.

They gathered as much as they could before heading back.  
  


It only took another day to make it back to the cabin. Once they got there, they re-dressed Zelk's wounds and gave him antibiotics and painkillers. They thanked the trio.

"Remember the bear that attacked Zelk?" Dave asked.

"Yeah," Zak said, "it was huge."

"We plan on killing it tomorrow," Dave smiled, "we could use your help if you're up for it."

The trio exchanged glances, then Zak spoke up, "you can count on us, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	9. The Hunt

After a few hours of traveling through harsh weather, Zak, Darryl, Vincent, Dave, George, and Mega arrived at their destination. They were looking for the only weapon that could kill the bear. It was a spear that was located in an abandoned trapper's cabin a few miles from Zelk's cabin.

The group navigated to the door and it looked like it was frozen shut. There was also a pile of snow blocking it. They would have to find another way into the cabin. They _could_ try to remove the snow, but that would take too long.

The wind was picking up extremely fast and it was getting dark. The group had to find a way into the cabin so they could continue on their journey. They just wanted to get it over with.

No one wanted to be there any longer-- it was getting dark.

The group eventually found a way into the cabin. They'd looked around for a bit and found an open window. It didn't feel any warmer in there than outside, however.

The group explored the house a bit, finding a lot of interesting stuff. However, most of it was frozen. Soon, they found the bear spear. It was hanging above the fireplace in the living room.

Zak looked out the window; the sun was almost below the horizon. How long had they been in that house?

"We should stay here for the night or else it will be dark before we even reach the bear's cave," Zak stated. Everyone agreed, and Darryl got started on making a fire in the fireplace.

Zak, George, and Dave searched the house for food. Zak found a whole bunch of frozen meat that looked like it could be edible if he melted it. He also found a lantern and a few sleeping bags.

Once he was finished searching the house for supplies, he met back in the living room with the others.

The others were already there, showing each other what they got. They didn't really find much-- just a can of beans and corn.

Zak handed the sleeping bags out to those who didn't have them. He, Darryl, and Vincent already had their own.

A fire was already going, the embers glowing under the small flames. Zak sat in front of the fire, staring into it. He was sitting in his sleeping bag.

It was already dark outside and the meat he'd found was melting-- the water fizzing when it dripped off into the gentle flames.

Zak was lost in the flames to where he didn't even pay attention to the conversation going on behind him. He thought about his family. What were they doing right now? Were they worrying about him?

After eating a nice meal, Zak fell asleep. He was exhausted from all of the walking he'd done over the past week or so.  
  
  


Waking up the next morning came quickly; Zak felt as if he got a lot of sleep yet it seemed like he didn't.

Everyone was up before him, having a conversation. Darryl was cooking breakfast in a pot that he found in one of the cabinets. He was making rabbit stew, and Zak remembered that time when Darryl made rabbit stew about a week ago.

The pleasant smell of food filled up Zak's nose as he sat up.

"Good morning, Zak!" Darryl cheered.

Zak stretched and looked at Darryl with a smile. "Good morning," Zak said.

Zak stood up and walked over to where Mega, Dave, Vincent, and George were standing. They were in the kitchen talking about the bear and how they were going to kill it.

"Oh, hello, Zak," Dave said when Zak walked over to them. Zak waved with a smile. They conversed about what the bear looks like, its weak spots, and how they were going to go about the fight. Mega spoke in sign language, so George had to translate what he was saying.

After a few minutes, Darryl came into the kitchen with a pot full of hot, steaming stew. He sat it on the counter and got out a few bowls for each of them. He found some silverware too. He dished the stew out evenly into the bowls and handed one to Zak and the others.

They thanked Darryl and they started eating. Zak didn't want to eat inside, so he went through the window they came in from. He made his way to the porch of the house and sat down on a bench. He scooped up some of the food and blew on it before putting it in his mouth.

The food was still hot, but Zak didn't really feel it. It was sunny today and not as cold as it usually was. Zak was happy for that; they wouldn't have to fight the bear in unbearable conditions. _Hah, get it?_

Soon Zak was finished with his stew. He heard footsteps nearby, so he looked up to see Darryl. He was holding a bowl that Zak assumed was just more stew. Darryl sat down next to Zak on the bench.

"I knew I'd find you out here," Darryl chuckled, "I brought you more stew, just in case if you wanted more." Darryl offered Zak the stew and Zak accepted it.

"Thank you," Zak smiled. Darryl hummed as to say, "you're welcome."

"So... we were talking about who should be the one to throw the spear," Darryl said, "and the others think it should be you."

"I'll do it," Zak smiled, "as long as you guys got my back."

"Of course, you muffin!" Darryl laughed lightly. Zak smiled. They both sat in comfortable silence while Zak finished off the rest of the stew in his new bowl.

Once he was done, Darryl asked, "wanna head back inside? We should meet up with the others and head out." Zak nodded and they both headed inside through the window.

"You two lovebirds ready?" Vincent asked once Zak and Darryl got inside. Zak's face heated up fast. He looked over and Darryl's face was flustered as well.

"U-um.. yeah, we're ready," Zak stuttered.

"Great," Vincent said, grabbing his backpack and swinging it over his shoulders, "I got the spear, let's go." Zak saw that the spear was tied to Vincent's backpack.

They all headed out. They were back on their journey.  
  
  


It was around midday when the group reached the entrance to the bear's cave. They just hoped that the bear was home so they wouldn't have to search for him.

They looked down into the cave. It had a big entrance and it was dark inside. Who knows what could be down there, aside from the bear.

"Does anyone have a torch or flare or anything?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, I think Zak has a few flares in his bag," Darryl said. Zak nodded and took off his backpack. He opened it and took out three flares. They needed more than one just in case if one of them went out all of a sudden.

Zak gave the flares to Vincent and he pulled the cap off of one of them. It caused part of the cave to light up in a red-tinted light. Vincent gave Zak the spear and the group headed into the cave.

They've been in the cave for about a minute, and they haven't found anything yet. After a few more twists and turns in the cave, Zak stopped the group.

"Do you hear that?" Zak asked. He could hear the faint noise of running water and soon a roar. It was the bear.

The flare they had run out, so Vincent lit another one. They continued through the cave and soon made it to a big opening. It was beautiful.

There was a huge open area with a hole in the ceiling, letting light through in beautiful, golden rays. There were two natural, rock pillars that didn't reach the ceiling. There was also a river that winded across the cave. There was no snow in there, only grass and trees covered in leaves of all colors: green, yellow, and orange. Some parts of the walls were covered in beautiful moss.

Zak's jaw dropped at the sight of the cave. It was _beautiful_. He looked around for the bear and saw it in the river, probably fishing.

It luckily didn't see the group from up on the ledge that they were on. Zak looked around for a way down and saw a ledge that descended downward. He motioned for the group to follow him down the slope. They followed him.

Once the group made it into a clearing, the bear noticed them and roared. It began to go over to where the group was. Zak readied the spear and the others all got their weapons out. They all took off their backpacks to make it easier to fight.

The bear soon made it over to the group and slashed at Zak, who dodged it. Zak tried to hit the bear with the spear but missed.

The bear slashed at Zak, but he dodged it, losing balance for a second. Zak regained his balance and lunged forward with the spear heading for the bear's heart. The spear pierced the skin, causing blood to splatter on Zak. The bear slashed out one last time— catching Zak off guard— and landed a blow on Zak's chest.

The claws of the bear scraped across his chest and ripped his shirt. Tt left zak with three large scrapes in-line. It drew blood, and Zak could feel a liquid running fast down his chest. Just then, the bear fell backward, making one last roar before it thudded to the ground and became silent. It was dead.

Zak fell backward after that and Darryl rushed to his side quickly. Darryl kneeled down next to Zak and the others stood around him.

"We... We defeated the bear," Zak said with a hoarse voice.

"Yes," Darryl smiled, tears prickling his eyes.

Zak felt numb. He didn't know what happened; it all happened so fast.

"Zak, we're going to get you out of here, okay?" Darryl said, his voice quavering.

Zak was bleeding out. They didn't bring enough medical supplies with them to stop Zak's bleeding.

All Zak remembers after that is being picked up by Darryl before passing out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	10. Reunion

Zak woke up in a cold sweat. He tried to sit up, but couldn't-- it hurt too much to. He noticed he was laying on a couch. He looked to his side and saw a lit fireplace. He didn't recognize the environment. Where was he?

He needed to get up. He was scared. Where was Darryl? How did he get there?

Zak tried his best to get up, but he just couldn't. His chest hurt so badly. Zak lifted up his shirt to see bandages. He could see the slight tint of blood seeping through. What had happened to him? He was confused. The past events for him have been a blur.

He touched the wrapped wound with his finger and immediately flinched away with a groan.

"Zak?" Zak heard a familiar voice call. He tried to sit up again and was able to with a lot of effort. Once he sat up, he was immediately laid back down by Darryl.

"You can't sit up, Zak," Darryl said as he crouched down to be eye level with Zak, "you'll reopen your wounds."

"Where am I? What happened?" Zak asked.

"We're in a cabin that we saw not far from the bear's cave," Darryl stated, "We fought the bear, remember?"

All of a sudden, the events of yesterday came back to him. "How long has it been?" Zak asked.

"Just the night," Darryl said. He waited a few seconds to let Zak process the information before continuing, "We found a lot of medical supplies in this cabin. The person who lived here must've known a lot about that stuff."

Darryl wanted to tell Zak about how it looked like someone was in that cabin before them recently, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to worry Zak.

"Where are the others?" Zak asked.

"Dave, George, and Mega went back home. Vincent is still here; he's just out hunting," Darryl stated.

Suddenly, Zak heard a door, which he presumed was the front door, opening.

"Oh, that must be Vincent! You stay here, I'll help him out," Darryl said. He stood up from his crouching position and walked through the house to get to the front door.

Who he saw _wasn't_ Vincent. It wasn't even anyone they knew.

"W-who are you?" Darryl asked, scared. It was a man with blonde hair. He held a double-barrel shotgun in his hands and a medical bag.

"I should be asking you the same thing," the man said, "this is my home."

"O-oh! I'm sorry! My name is Darryl. My friend is injured and there was nowhere else to stay. it looked like no one was living here so we stayed here," Darryl said.

The man scrunched his face as if he was thinking. He sighed before finally speaking, "alright. You guys can stay here for as long as you need. The wind is picking up and I think a storm's about to brew."

"Thank you," Darryl smiled.

"You're welcome," The man sat his gun down by the door and walked through the hallway, "I'll take a look at your friend. I have medical training." Darryl nodded and followed the man into the living room where Zak was sitting up.

"Zak, what did I say? You're going to re-open your wounds!" Darryl rushed over to Zak and helped him to lay down.

"Who is this?" Zak asked.

"Umm..." Darryl never got the man's name.

"My name is Clay. I've been staying here, but I've been gone for the past week on a medical trip," Clay said, "let me have a look at your wounds."

Zak hesitated. He looked at Darryl, who reassured him by nodding.

Clay kneeled down next to Zak and told him to take off his shirt. Zak nodded and did as the man said.

"When was this?" Clay asked as he began to take off the dressing of the wound.

"Around yesterday evening," Darryl said.

"What happened?"

"We went out to kill the bear--" Darryl started, but got cut off by Clay.

Clay turned to face Darryl with wide eyes, "the bear?"

"Yes, the bear," Darryl said.

"Do you have any idea how stupid of an idea that is? Especially with only the two of you? I don't know what's going on, but ever since the lights, all of the animals have become more aggressive. I don't know if you know this or not."

"It wasn't just the two of us, we had others with us," Darryl said in his defense.

"Still, but--" Clay started but immediately turned his head in the direction of the front door. It was opening.

"Who is that?" Clay asked.

"It must be our other friend, then," Darryl got up and went to the door once again. It was Vincent this time and he was carrying an elk over his shoulder. He must've noticed the gun by the door because he gave Darryl a weird look.

"Uh, whose gun is this?" Vincent asked.

"The owner of this cabin came back, but don't worry, he won't kill us," Darryl smiled, but it faltered when he spoke the next words, "I hope."

"Well, introduce me when I put this up," Vincent said before going into the kitchen and setting the elk on the floor in there. He met back up with Darryl in the hallway.

They started to head to the living room. Vincent looked like he had just murdered something-- which he had-- due to being almost covered in blood.

Vincent almost died of shock when he entered the living room. He froze and his shoulders stiffened.

"Clay?" Vincent barely managed to say. Clay turned around from where he was dressing Zak's wounds and his eyes widened. He didn't say anything, he just stood up from his crouching position and ambled toward Vincent.

Once he got close enough, they both had tears in their eyes. Clay pulled Vincent into a hug and they stood there for about a minute before parting.

"I-I thought you were dead," Vincent whispered, barely audible to Zak and Darryl.

"I thought the same of you," Clay said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	11. Feel Better?

**_ONE WEEK LATER_ **  
  


"Try walking," Clay suggested, "you should be fine to do it by now."

Zak cautiously sat up from his comfortable spot on the couch with a weary groan. He's had to sit there for a week. _It felt more like a month._ So far Zak's wounds have healed marvelously, considering the fact that the bear's claws had sunken into him tremendously deep.

Darryl reached out his arm for Zak. Zak grabbed Darryl's hand which helped him to stand up. Surprisingly, the gash on his chest did not ache when he attempted to stand as it had formerly.

He was happy; he and Darryl could finally head down south towards civilization-- if it really was there. Maybe they would find nothing, but they at least had to try. It's better to try and fail than not to try at all.

Zak doesn't know what he'd do even if Darryl and he do find civilization. What if this was all just one, big dream?

No. It couldn't be. This all felt too real.

"--ak? Zak!" Darryl's voice interrupted Zak's train of thought.

"Yes? Sorry, I kinda spaced out a bit..." Zak rubbed the back of his neck.

"As I was saying," Darryl continued, "do you think you would be able to travel with... you know, your wounds?"

Zak nodded, "y-yeah, I bet I can."

"You sure? I mean, I don't wanna push you past your breaking point," Darryl said quickly, "I don't want you to be stressed or your wounds to reopen or anything like that."

"No, I can do this," Zak said with confidence.

Darryl sighed before speaking, "o-okay." Darryl was a bit skeptical of Zak, mostly because of the huge gash he has on his chest. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Zak due to him. Mostly he just didn't want Zak to get hurt in general.

"Here are a few supplies that you might need for your journey," Clay came out into the living room from a hallway, "you'll have to re-dress Zak's wounds every day." Darryl and Zak were too caught up in their conversation that they didn't notice Clay even leave the room.

Clay was holding all sorts of things-- cohesive wrap, Neosporin, hydrogen peroxide, compass, etc. Darryl grabbed the goods and packed them in his backpack.

Zak had already gotten his backpack on and was ready to leave. He and Darryl turned to face Clay and Vincent.

"Thank you so much for all of your help," Darryl smiled.

"Not a problem," Clay returned the smile, "you guys be safe on your journey. Watch out for wolves."

"We will, thank you again," Darryl said.

Darryl and Zak turned away from Clay and headed for the door. As soon as Zak didn't hear the third pair of footsteps, he stopped. Darryl noticed Zak stopped, so he stopped as well, a bit confused at that.

"What--" Darryl started, but was cut off by Zak.

"Are you not coming with us, Vincent?" Zak asked.

Vincent sighed before answering. "Unfortunately, no. I don't wish to find civilization as you guys want to. All I wanted was to be reunited with my friend. Much luck to you on your travels." Vincent smiled.

Zak and Darryl nodded understandingly, almost simultaneously as well, before heading off out into the wilderness again.

Darryl took a deep breath of the chilly air before pulling out the compass from his backpack. "We need to head south, obviously, since we are already so far north," Darryl said, mostly just making a note to himself.

Darryl moved around until the compass needle was pointing south. He started to trek through the thick snow, Zak following not far behind.  
  


It felt like they were walking for hours; Zak was tired, and he was sure that Darryl was too.

"Can we--" Zak attempted to say, but got cut off by a short cough, "can we rest for a bit?" More coughing came after that.

"Yeah, sure," Darryl walked over to where Zak was standing, "Zak, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Zak coughed some more, "probably just got dust or something in my throat. I'm fine."

Darryl gave Zak a skeptical look but decided not to pressure him any further.

Zak sat down after a few seconds. "How long have we been walking exactly?" Zak asked.

"I dunno. Maybe about an hour." Darryl answered honestly.

Zak sighed before laying on his back to look up at the sky. Darryl decided to lay down next to him.

"Funny," Zak chuckled softly.

"Hm?" Darryl glanced at Zak.

Zak pointed out towards the sky, "see that cloud?"

Darryl squinted, but soon saw the cloud that Zak was pointing out, "yeah, what about it?"

"It looks like a chicken," Zak smiled.

"Oh yeah, it does!" Darryl laughed.  
  


After a few minutes of pointing out oddly-shaped clouds, Darryl and Zak got back to walking. They needed to get as far as they could in a day. They can only travel so many miles before it gets dark.

The sun was just starting to set. The sun painted the sky with many, beautiful colors. Pink, fluffy clouds lined up along the horizon. Other, darker-colored clouds hung up in the darker part of the sky, dotting the sky. It was beautiful.

"We're going to walk for a few minutes longer before setting up camp. Unless--" Darryl started, but got cut off by Zak coughing and wheezing as if he couldn't breathe.

"Zak!" Darryl rushed to Zak's side as he started to fall. He helped Zak sit down and he crouched next to him.

"I'm--" Zak coughed, desperate for air, "I'm fine!"

"No, you're not!" Darryl sighed before taking his backpack off and laying it beside him. He unzipped it and searched around for a bit before pulling out a few rose hips.

Zak's wheezing relented during those few seconds, thankfully, and turned into small, muffled coughs.

"What are you doing?" Zak rasped, his throat dry from both his coughing and lack of hydration.

"Making a fire," Darryl grabbed a lighter out of his backpack and a few sticks that he kept in there, just in case if he ever needed them, along with some kindling.

Darryl cleared a spot in the snow to make a fire. _Hopefully, it's not too damp._ Darryl thought. He put together a makeshift fire. Darryl wished for the best as he held out his lit lighter close to the kindling. The kindling set aflame after a few seconds, which soon spread to the sticks.

Zak moved himself up to the fire to warm up. It was dark out now and the stars started to show.

Darryl prepared a metal cup with water and the rose hips. He then set it next to the fire and waited for it to boil.

It took ten minutes before the rosehip tea to boil, and only three more minutes after that for it to cool down. Darryl and Zak sat in comfortable silence, for the time being, only saying a few words to each other.

Zak took a sip of his tea. It soothed his throat but also got rid of the minor swelling that he felt from the gash on his chest.

"Feel better?" Darryl asked with a light chuckle.

Zak nodded as he took another sip of his tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


	12. I love you

Zak couldn't sleep at all that night. He knew that it would come back on him when he and Darryl traveled for the day. He'd just lay there for the night, using his backpack as a makeshift pillow.

The sun had already risen for the day and Zak already had a fire going. Darryl was opposite to him across the fire, sleeping peacefully. Zak just sat in front of the fire, his back cold compared to the warmth of the fire.

All of a sudden, Zak's stomach started rumbling. He needed to eat something. Zak reached behind him and grabbed his backpack. He zipped it open and looked around for something to eat. He found a few packs of beef jerky.

Zak thought it was funny how much beef jerky was here up north. The people that lived up here must've eaten it all the time or something.

Zak tore open the pack of beef jerky, slowly and quietly so he wouldn't wake up Darryl. He ate a piece of the jerky; it was a bit stale, but that was alright. Stale beef jerky was better than nothing.

By the time Zak was finished eating the stale jerky, Darryl woke up with a yawn.

"You sleep good, Zak?" Darryl asked, a bit delirious from sleep.

"Yeah," Zak lied. He didn't want to be the cause of Darryl and him being held back from walking today. They needed to get as far as possible for the day.

"Great," Darryl smiled. He waited a few seconds before continuing, "is there another pack of beef jerky?"

Zak reached in his bag and pulled out another pack of the stale jerky and tossed it over the fire to Darryl. "Thanks," Darryl smiled. Zak smiled back.

"So, when are we gonna start back on our journey?" Zak asked with his mouth full of jerky.

"Soon," Darryl said, "let's eat first." Zak nodded. They finished off the packs of stale beef jerky in silence. Once they were finished, they cleaned up the campsite.

Darryl told Zak that he should rest instead of helping clean up because he was still wounded. It would be horrible if his wounds reopened. He ignored Darryl and helped anyway.

Zak and Darryl packed their bags and put out the fire. Zak wasn't ready for walking today, due to lack of sleep, but he didn't want to tell Darryl. He didn't want to hold them back from their journey.

"Are you ready to go?" Darryl asked Zak, which snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry," Zak chuckled and followed Darryl. It didn't snow that night so, thankfully, the snow wasn't any higher than it was the day before. It had not gone down because of the cold weather though.

It was a struggle for Zak to walk through the snow — because of both weariness and the deepness of the snow — but wasn't complaining. He needed to get through this. He wanted to get home.

Near the end of the day, Darryl saw through Zak's façade. He didn't realize it, but he had bags under his eyes and was sweating more than usual.

"Zak, are you alright?" Darryl asked. He stopped to look at Zak and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Y-yeah," Zak lied.

"You're lying," Darryl said, "let's set up camp here. You should get some rest." Darryl smiled and took off his backpack. He pulled out his lighter and some fire kindling. He didn't have anymore sticks to put in the fire so he had to find some.

"You stay here, Zak," Darryl said as he put on his backpack after putting the items he took out back into his bag, "I'll be back soon."

"Okay," Zak said, sitting down. He used his backpack as a pillow and leaned against it. Darryl headed off into the woods, leaving Zak alone. It was getting dark, so it was starting to get cold.

A cold breeze swept across the hardened snow, sending chills down Zak's spine when it hit him. The sun was only but a sliver on the horizon which let only a little bit of light over the land.

Zak and Darryl's campsite was out in the open, only about one hundred feet from the nearest forest. Why didn't they just camp there — in the forest?

Zak got bored quickly and had a hard time warming himself up without a fire. Especially that he was a bit sick. He'd have to get Darryl to make him a cup of rosehip tea when he'd get back.

Zak twidled his fingers, waiting patiently for Darryl. Minutes have passed.

_Bang!_

All of a sudden Zak felt a pain in his lower abdomen. He looked down. He saw blood. Lots of blood. "What the hell?" Zak said exasperatedly.

Out of instinct, Zak's hand clutched his newly formed wound.

"D-Darryl!" Zak attempted to yell. He coughed and blood came out on his hand. "Darryl!" Zak tried to yell again, this time a bit louder.

He heard something in the distance. It sounded like someone yelling. It was Darryl.

Blood was gushing out of the hole in Zak's lower abdomen. After a minute or so Darryl arrived at the campsite. He sat his backpack down.

"Zak! What happened?" Darryl rushed to Zak's side. He clutched Zak's hand to help apply pressure to the wound. Tears were forming in Darryl's eyes.

"I don't know. I heard a bang and all of a sudden my stomach started hurting," Zak chuckled half-heartedly, "I think I got shot."

"Zak, w-we need to get you back to Clay's cabin," Darryl tried to speak normally, but he couldn't help how his voice quavered, "h-he can help you."

"I-I can't. I don't think I can walk. Plus, it's t-too far," Zak spoke with an exasperated voice. The pain was unbearable.

"Let me get the supplies that Clay gave us," Darryl attempted to stand but Zak pulled him back.

"D-don't leave," Zak said. Darryl glanced back towards his backpack, "please."

"B-but," Darryl couldn't help the tears spill from his eyes, "I could have a chance at saving you."

"No," Zak smiled, "it's alright."

Zak shifted a bit from where he was sitting. He was losing blood. Darryl knew that he should get the supplies to save Zak, but he wouldn't let him.

"I-I can't do this alone," Darryl stated.

"I know you can. Find civilization, find people who can come up here and help the many other dying people up here. I'll just slow you down," Zak said.

"No, it's okay, we can wait a while," another tear slid from Darryl's eye, "please, Zak. Please."

Zak didn't know what to say. He knew that even if Darryl tried to help, it wouldn't work. The bullet was probably still inside him. Darryl didn't know how to extract bullets.

Even if Darryl did save him, the wound would get infected. They didn't have any antibiotics with them. They knew they should've gotten some, but they never asked. Plus, Zak would just slow the journey down.

"Darryl?" Zak said quietly.

"Mhm?" Darryl looked into Zak's eyes.

"I-I love you," Zak smiled.

"No, Zak, don't say that! You're not going to die! You're not! You _can't!_ " Darryl exclaimed. Zak squeezed Darryl's hand and gave him a warm smile. The pressure on Darryl's hand was removed and the life faded from Zak's eyes.

"Zak?" Darryl's voice quavered even worse than before, "Zak! You can't be dead!"

Darryl leaned forward and pressed his head to Zak's chest and tears spilled from his eyes. He didn't even get to say it back.

_He didn't even get to say it back._

Zak awoke in a cold sweat. It was warm. It was silent. All of a sudden Zak heard a _ding_ noise followed by someone announcing, "everybody make sure that you are buckled up and your trays are put up. Thank you for choosing our airline and hope you enjoyed your flight!"

 _What's going on?_ Zak thought. Am I on a... _plane?_ Zak rubbed his eyes and looked over to his left. Darryl was sitting there, scrolling through something on his phone.

"D-Darryl?" Zak couldn't believe his eyes. How did they get back on the plane?

"How do you know my name?" Darryl looked over at Zak with a confused expression.

"Darryl, stop, this isn't funny," Zak frowned.

"Okay, I don't know who you are or how you know my name. I have no idea what you are talking about," Darryl said before looking back at his phone.

Zak started to freak out. He lifted up his shirt and saw no wounds.

 _Was that really all a dream? It felt so real._ Zak thought. His heart was racing.

The plane lowered to the ground and made a smooth landing. He was confused.

_He never said it back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at baroquedesert73 on Tumblr or my email: baroquedesert73@gmail.com


End file.
